Prior to his graduate studies, Seward was a production assistant at the PBS NewsHour, where he researched and developed breaking news stories as well as features for both the Health and Arts & Culture units. He also served at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver with the NewsHour, and wrote for the NewsHour's Art Beat blog.

Seward got his start in public media when he was an anthropology student at the University of Chicago, as a production intern for WTTW's Chicago Tonight. He has also conducted internships in regional transportation planning and neighborhood revitalization. He's originally from San Francisco.

Interstate 81 runs through the heart of Syracuse, N.Y., where a 1.4-mile-long elevated stretch of the highway is known locally as "the viaduct." Like many road projects built in the middle of the last century, I-81 is bumping up against the end of its life span. While officials say it's still safe to drive on, the highway is crumbling in parts.

Small businesses are often called the backbone of the U.S. economy; they employ about half of the nation's private sector employees. But in many cases, small companies start out with a workforce of just one — like cereal entrepreneur Ian Szalinski in Rochester, N.Y., who's trying to stake a claim to the breakfast market.